You work your tricep anytime you have your arm extending straight. So in order to get your tricep stronger, you need to focus on extending your arm. I’ll show you lots of ways to get this done.

But it’s also vital for stabilization. This is really important if you want to be athletically fit and not just “look good” fit.

Shoulder stabilization is vital for doing lots of exercises and movements as you’ll see. And I think some of these exercises are better for training even though they may not seem that way at first.

I’ll show you what I mean.

16 Tricep Exercises for Women

(This is by no means an end all be all list)

The Classics

Let’s get all the classics out of the way first.

The following exercises will isolate the tricep as the primary mover and little to know real other help. At least that’s the goal.

#1 – Tricep Kick Back

This is the classic tricep exercise. It’s good in that it hits your tricep directly.

But what I don’t like about it is you need to keep your elbow pinned in space so you really hit your tricep muscles. However, when you’re knocking out reps it’s WAY too easy to start using momentum and effectively ruin the exercise.

#2 – Overhead Tricep Extension with Dumbbell

This is a pretty good one like above. However, the same problem exists in that as you fatigue, you will start to throw your whole body into the movement.

#3 – Overhead Tricep Extension with Bands

Bands are great. I have really begun to love bands in my routines. Why?

Because the more you stretch it the harder it gets, BUT it also requires great stability on the eccentric part of the rep (when you’re bending your arm).

Eccentric training is a great way to build muscle.

But again, be careful not to begin throwing your whole body into the movement. Finding the right band is key.

#4 – Overhead Tricep Extension with Suspension System

I am not a big fan of this one because the suspension system stays in place and your body is moving backwards. It’s really strange feeling.

But all in all, it’s the same movement. If you’re going to do this one… get a band.

#5 – Tricep Pull Down

I told you I love bands. This is probably the best of the “classic” exercises because I feel you focus more on your triceps without the rest of your body influencing the movement.

Plus at the bottom, you can really squeeze your contraction and do super slow eccentric motion too.

I like to use the bands because again… it get’s tougher the lower you go and compared to cables, you need more stability. You can feel it right away.

These were all the direct extension exercises. The ones that isolate the tricep.

Yes, this is a great way to build this muscle. But unless you have a muscle imbalance or a really weak tricep muscle… I would prefer something different.

They are great for rehabbing and some focused strength work, but I’ll show you others I think are better.

The Dips

Tricep dips. Super popular and famous, but I’ll show you some different – better – ways to do these.

#6 – Box/Bench Dips

Traditionally, most women put their hands on a bench BEHIND THEM and then proceed to move their hips down and up IN FRONT OF the bench.

This puts your shoulder in a tough position. You can even feel some tightness when you do this in front of your shoulder where your humerus connects to your shoulder. Not the best position.

So all you have to do is take two benches or boxes and sit between them. Now you can keep your shoulder in a more neutral position.

#7 – Parallette Dips

I love parallettes. It’s the same idea as above, but with parallettes, you can do so many more cool exercises… many of which hit your triceps perfectly.

I highly recommend adding a set of parallettes to your equipment bundle.

#8 – Ring Dips

These are by far the toughest.

Instable… bigger range of motion… and flat out hard. Keep your hands close to your body as you go down and at the top, squeeze your triceps and arms and rotate your palms so they face forward.

This is an advanced move. You can do a modification with your feet on the ground so your legs can help.

It’s a total body move for sure!

The Pushups

I love pushups and they can totally hit your triceps, especially if you do them correctly.

Here is my full pushup progression. You can learn how and why you should do pushups with your elbows in… not out.

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